PHILADELPHIA — Gov. Ed Rendell says a transit strike that shut down Philadelphia's buses, subways and trolleys for nearly a week is over.

The governor announced early today that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority reached an agreement with its largest labor union on new contract provisions to end the strike. About 5,000 Transport Workers Local 234 workers walked off the job last Tuesday.

Rendell says the system will be back up and running in time for this morning's commute.

During a brief press conference, the governor said SEPTA and the union had settled an earlier disagreement regarding a pension fund audit and made some changes in health care and dental benefits. Union president Willie Brown says he thinks members will approve the contract.

MARKET VOLATILITY MAY SIGNAL RALLY'S END

Stock market volatility is back, a signal to some experts that the powerful rally that started in early March may be coming to an end.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose or fell more than 100 points in seven of the past 12 trading days, capped by a 205-point advance on Thursday that left the index almost 53 percent higher than its closing level on March 9. The Dow's muted 17-point gain on Friday, meanwhile, masked the fact that it swung nearly 108 points throughout the day after the government reported the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October.

Still, few analysts are predicting a huge downdraft is coming. They say it's not uncommon to see choppy trading patterns when investors begin to fret that a bull market is running out of steam.

SONY OFFERING MOVIE AS BONUS TO BUYERS

LOS ANGELES — In a bid to sell living room electronics and spur buzz for "Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs," Sony Corp. is offering the movie for free to U.S. buyers of its Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players starting today. People who buy that equipment will be able to watch the movie in any 24-hour window from Dec. 8 until it is released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on Jan. 5.

Sony's move highlights the way that movies are increasingly becoming available on TVs that connect directly to the Internet as the entertainment industry strives to come up with new business models.

CHINA PLEDGES $10B IN LOANS TO AFRICA

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt — China's premier yesterday pledged $10 billion in new low-interest loans to African nations over three years, offering the beleaguered continent sorely needed cash while dismissing criticism that Beijing's motives in Africa are far from altruistic.

Wen Jiabao's promise at the start of a two-day China-Africa summit was warmly received by African leaders and officials, most of whose nations confront despair further accentuated by the global financial crisis. Wen said China wants to help Africa build its financing capacity and would provide $10 billion in concessional loans. He also said China would forgive debts of the poorest African nations that have relations with Beijing.